Saturday, February 27, 2016

Rempis/Harnik/Zerang - Wistfully (Aerophonic Records, 2016)

This was a freely improvised concert with Dave Rempis on
alto and tenor saxophone, Elisabeth Harnik on piano and Michael Zerang on
percussion, making their first meeting as a trio, although you’d hardly know it
by hearing this album. The musicians are listening closely to one another and
develop a deeply empathetic relationship. “Wistful 1” opens the album with
fluttering sounds and then a siren call of saxophone. With skittering
percussion and piano droplets framing him, Rempis’s saxophone moves into darker
and fuller territory. The band becomes free and loose, reacting to one another
with squalls of saxophone and rolling piano making things very exciting. They
go far out on a limb as a howling improvising unit, developing fascinating
music. There is an open sounding strummed noise from within the piano lending a
mysterious air to “Wistful 2.” Saxophone and percussion probe the nature of the
music, which is continuously shifting and hard to get a grip on. Rempis
develops low tones of saxophone over subtle percussion, before there is an
interlude for piano and cymbals and peals of saxophone, all of which maintain
the sense of unease that permeates this track.“Wistful 3” has Michael Zerang’s unaccompanied percussion opening before
there is ominous choppy saxophone that is added to the mix. These two
instruments sway to and fro very fast and free and developing a very exciting improvised
duet. The trio comes together and continues to move together fast and free,
rising and descending rapidly in the open space that surrounds them, moving to
an off the charts level of thrilling intensity. Rempis opens “Wistful 5” very
quietly with the sound of his breath and the clicking and popping of fingered
saxophone keys, and light percussion. He moves quickly to a loud, reverberated
sound, which is tough and brawling, matched by tumbling drums. Menacing swirling
saxophone and rumbling drums make the whole improvisation develop an anxious or
skittish quality. “Wistful 6” has lighter toned saxophone and gliding piano
making for brighter music, before there is an alarming and unexpected section
of strummed strings from inside the piano adds an odd flavor to the music.
Rempis retains a softer edge to his playing and Zerang has very fast cymbal
playing to close out the section. The music on this album is quite fascinating;
it is very free and unfettered and never moves in the way you expect it to. Elisabeth
Harnik is particularly fascinating since she uses her whole piano to develop a
multitude of sounds that add to the texture of the music. Rempis/Harnik/Zerang - Wistfully - Aerophonic Records.